Student debt has been a hot topic lately, particularly during the election debates and the recent town hall with now-President Biden. I know it's a thorny issue for many, but I've always been a proponent of leveling the playing field in our oh-so-unequal society.

I will preface this with the fact that I had a little over $10,000 owed thanks to generous parents in undergrad and scholarships in grad school, which I paid off in nine years (2013 was the closing date for my student loans). But there are a lot of dysfunctional societal reasons why so many owe so much; here are what I see as the biggest problems.

First of all, there is no financial literacy taught to people, nor advocacy for borrowers. Ever. I still freeze in panic when I face the task of setting a realistic budget, not because I can't afford the basics, but because it has so many unknown variables. Who knows if I'll be laid off, how much I can save for retirement, or even if I ever CAN retire, etc, etc? For someone already unable to afford the basics and now responsible for loans on top of that, approaching these questions must be absolutely paralyzing. 

Complicating this, even if you're doing the best you can with the money you have, sometimes the only answer is a better paying job which aren't prevalent in today's world, and banks are never on the consumer's side when they can collect fees and interest from the average person's hardships. More needs to be done to give relief and reasonable accommodations for low wages.

Secondly, the economy relies more than ever on consumer spending. I'm lumping mortgages in with this category since housing is similarly vital to a healthy economy.  If graduates are stuck paying $500 a month or more to their lenders, who benefits besides the banks? No one, and worse, the borrower's spending power in general is massively compromised which means less consumption and therefore less production across the board. The only alternative is accruing more debt to consume and that is not sustainable in the long term either. In addition, permanent renting through inability to afford down payments on an owned property turns into an underclass with little leverage and less buying power, no matter how educated they are.

Thirdly, colleges and universities have been allowed to raise tuition in the past three decades far more than the degree is worth, yet at the same time any entry level job requires at least a bachelors or masters regardless of what the major was (which tells you how unnecessary the degree really is to the job). Automation has removed so many jobs that requiring a degree is simply a formality allowing employers to pre-screen for the few jobs left. The spiral of cost vs. possible reward has made loans the only avenue for the majority of the population to even hope for a second glance at their resume.

When you have financially naive people desperate for a better life and lenders and colleges marketing education as the solution, along with America's bootstraps philosophy which pulled most government funding from state universities to offset tuition, it's an incredibly stacked playing field for most students.

In short (too late!), we have created this situation. I don't think all debt should be erased, but I'm ok with $10,000 or even $50,000 removed from students' balances. I don't expect my money back because I paid it off the traditional way; use that to subsidize others. If it can help the country reach a better equilibrium and allow people to live with less monetary anxiety, I'm all for it. This is helping others in the best kind of way and I would do it in a heartbeat.